There actually is a sun

After four full days of rain and mixed up workouts, I feel like I am finally back on track. Yesterday's workout called for 150 wall ball shots for time (I substituted 20lb dumbbell thrusters). 2nd workout was 3 sets of 5 minutes of running with 3minutes rest in between.

First part started off innocently enough, then it got really hard and I was wondering why. Then I remembered that I did the 5 sets of 5 reps of push presses on Sunday. I used dumbbells (50x1,60x1,50x3). Finished this part in 7:33. Went directly to the treadmill for part 2.

First 5 minutes ran .72 miles, 2nd set went .75 miles and the 3rd set I went .77 miles. The first set took a while to get my legs back in gear, but then felt pretty good.

The knee aches a little, but there is no pain, so all is good.

I believe the knee is ok

So with a scattered schedule and limping aroung on one leg, my workouts got all out of whack. Had an 8K (a little under 5 miles) race in Central Park this morning. When I got up, I couldn't believe that it wasn't cancelled. Even more amazing was that 2600 other crazy people showed up.

Nancy had a 45 minute 70% run as she is beginning her taper for the big NYC Half next weekend. Our friend Gerrit also joined us. There was no warmup (unless you count mile 1). My knee hurt with every step for the first 2 miles then it stopped hurting, but I still felt it. First mile was done at 7:45, second at 7:40 or so. I tried to pick it up as it felt better and finished in 36:31 (7:20 pace). This was good enough for 41st out of 209 in my new (40-44) age group.

Gerrit must have felt badly for almost lapping me at the race so he came to our apartment to help us paint. After spending the rest of the day in a squat position, my knee actually feels ok. I can hardly tell it was ever a problem. I am hoping my prayers for a quick recovery have been answered.

My knee still hurts

So I switched yesterday to a day off from this Friday thinking it would be a good idea to rest the knee, since it hurt with almost every step yesterday.

Tonight was supposed to be 400m/35lb. kettlebell swings/12 pullups 3x for time. Second part was a 20k bike time trial. I planned to bike instead of run figuring it would save the knee. First round through was a breeze, about a minute into the 2nd round, my knee started hurting with every revolution. The third round I substituted 50 squats for the bike. Finished in 9:45. There was no reason to push my knee for the bike, so I decided not to try and injure it further.

I hope it gets better soon. I think I hurt my knee the other day because of poor posture. My back was a bit tweaked from the row the night before so I think my gait was off. I am praying that's all it is and will improve soon.

Woe is Knee

So since today was a gorgeous day and I had the day off, I switched my 13.1M TT to today. I met my friend Gerrit at high noon for a planned 13.8 mile run (2 big loops and a little loop in Central Park). I was so excited to get this in today. We began at Columbus circle and headed off. All was well, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and then it happened. I felt a twinge in my right knee a little below my kneecap at about mile 3.5. Needless to say it killed on the downhills, not so terrible on the uphills. We finished the first big loop in 50 minutes even. It was hurting almost every step at that point. We went around the big loop again and I decided to listen to my knee and stop. Total distance 12.04 miles, total time 1:42:23 (8:30 pace). Don't ask me why this happened. The only other time I have felt any kind of pain at all from running was the 13.3 miles I did a few weeks back. Then, my hip hurt worse than my knee, but both went away after a couple of days. I have done the high speed running, but no real distance since. I am hoping it is an outlier of some kind. Spoke to Max, he said we'll maybe throw in a couple 10K's in the next few weeks to see if it comes back. I am doing an 8K in the park on Saturday and will see how it goes.

Yesterday's 5K row was done in 21:16.

Jane, I do get other websites popping up when I try to read your blog. I will see if I can get some answers.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed

It seems as if a lot of things have been going on to put a squeeze on my free (training) time lately. I find myself getting really anxious at the thought of having to miss a session. Luckily, I haven't had to yet and will do everything in my power not to miss a session.

Some results of the last few workouts;

20 box jumps/5 push press (used 50lb. dumbbells)/10 burpees AMRAP in 15 minutes. In the middle of one my box jump sets a lady came over and interrupted me to tell me she liked the rhythm of my jumping. Lost my count so either I did 5 full sets plus the box jumps and push presses or 6 full sets, plus the box jumps and push presses.

Run 8x400m with 90 second rest in between. After the first rep(1:33) I had a hard time keeping track on the treadmill, so I kept track of speed for sets 2-8.
Results are as follows; Set 2-10.5mph, 3-11mph, 4-12.1mph, 5-11.8mph, 6-11.5mph, 7-11mph, 8-10mph. Thought of Mike while I was running as the treadmill started emitting a funny smoke like smell. I couldn't tell if it was also making funny noises or if the noises were coming from me.

Yesterday had 7 sets 1 rep max of deadlifts. Warmed up and went 225, 275, 295, 315 failed x 2, 295, 275. Put a huge amount of effort into the 2 failed sets.

I am hoping this week will be more productive all around.

Ultra Anyone?

So last night, Nancy our friend Gerrit and I went to see a presentation by Scott Jurek (he of Born to Run fame and one of the world's best ultramarathoners). First off let me say that it was completely inspiring. So much so, Gerrit and I were emailing last night about a 60K race in Central Park this November. I asked him about doing an ultra after doing a couple of 1/2 iron races. He said that if you have sustained a level of effort for a triathlon, you can easily do an Ultra. He had never run more than a marathon before doing his first 50 mile race (he finished 2nd). He said he is not an elite marathoner (2:38 best time, which is pretty darn elite to me). I am thinking maybe I should do a marathon before thinking of doing an Ultra, but I guess if I signed up for a half iron race from the sofa with 5 months to train, how hard can an Ultra be now. I may try and volunteer as a pacer at one this year to see how it goes.

Back to the regularly scheduled workout. 5 Deadlifts at 70% max weight (215lbs.) 10 burpees, 15 squats AMRAP(as many rounds as possible) in 15 minutes. Did this at the gym with Nancy (we got a lot of funny looks). Finished 8 full rounds and on the 9th round did the deadlifts and 4 burpees. Very sore today (especially the hamstrings).

Helen and a Run

After Sunday's workout I was feeling a lot better. Had Helen on tap for Monday night (run 400m/21 kettlebell swings with 35lbs./12 pullups 3 rounds for time). I substituted a 35 lb. dumbbell. All 3 rounds on the treadmill were at 10.0 mph, swings were not broken, pullup sets were. Finished in 9:50.

Yesterday's WOD was a 45 minute run. Ran outside after work and felt great the whole time. Went a different way, so I wasn't really sure how my pace was. Finished 5.69 miles (7:54 pace). Was a little disappointed, but then I guess that's why I felt so good. I obviously thought I was pushing, but probably need to go harder. Even though this was only 3 days after my 13.3 mile run, I will run to failure next time to see what the difference is.